Animation TD

Sony Pictures Imageworks•Vancouver, BC

3h•CA$26 - CA$35•Onsite

About The Position

Sony Pictures Imageworks is seeking an Animation Associate Technical Director (Anim ATD) to be involved in the creation, development, and ongoing support of a high-end animation pipeline and pipeline workflows. The main focus of this role is to improve the efficiency and optimization of animation workflows and tools, as well as prototyping tools and utilities to support the animation team. This is a service-oriented role, working between productions and development, requiring a helpful, proactive, and accommodating personality. Candidates should have a strong passion for animation and computer graphics, bringing artistic visions to life with a focus on creative problem solving.

Requirements

Programming experience in Python.
Excellent problem-solving and interpersonal skills.
Bash/cshell/Linux knowledge.
Individuals with a growth mindset eager to learn, ask questions, and unafraid to try, fail, and iterate.
Confident in their abilities and knowledge, yet open to feedback and seeking improvement.

Nice To Haves

Strong interest in Visual Development, Film, Animation and general computer graphics is a plus
Good Knowledge of Maya.
Unreal Engine and Houdini are a plus.
C++ experience is a plus
Experience in code-sharing, revision control is a plus.
Experience with Docker or other software distribution systems.
Some basic knowledge or experience as a 3D or 2D artist is a plus.
Undergraduate or Graduate degree in Computing Science a plus.

Responsibilities

Optimize animation workflows by leveraging automation and defining best practices.
Work alongside other show anim ATDs to assist the team in optimizing and reducing scene or workflow complexities.
Coordinate with the Supervising Animators to proactively implement optimizations for sequences or assets.
Develop and maintain scripts, tools and utilities for the animation team.
Work in and understand the Imageworks’ proprietary animation pipeline.
Help author tool or workflow specific training materials.
Assist artists with technical issues anywhere in the production pipeline.
Work closely with the pipeline department to evaluate and support best practices.
Identify workflow inefficiencies and work with artists and the pipeline teams to build scripts, tools and/or systems to improve them.
Provide regular updates to the Supervising Animators and Pipeline Supervisor on progress, and challenges on the production.
Communicate progress and challenges to the Animation HOD, Technical Supervising Animator, and animation development team, providing show context when needed.
Actively participate in support chats, spotlights and department meetings, ensuring a broad understanding of best practices, workflows and tools in the animation team.
Collaborate with other departments to address creative and technical dependencies.
Work closely with the Supervising Animators on best practices and proactively help them solve sequence or asset related issues.